Our mission
We reach families where they are, connect them to what they need, care for the whole community and help the next generation grow.
Reach: Families where they are, starting on our own blocks in Englewood and Washington Heights.
Connect: Neighbors to the resources, programs and people they need.
Grow: The next generation, through mentorship, education and real opportunity.
Care: For the whole community: youth, seniors, families and the small businesses on our corridors.
We’re not an outside agency.
Our roots are at Racine Courts Co-op on South Racine Avenue, and we believe the people who live in a community are the ones best positioned to lift it up.
We’re neighbors, and we’re here for the long haul. When you give or volunteer, you’re backing the people who already show up on these blocks every day.
- Registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit, founded in 2024
- Serving Englewood and Washington Heights
- Run by a board of community leaders with backgrounds in business, operations and hospitality
What we work on
Programs for youth, families, seniors and local businesses across Englewood and Washington Heights.
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Violence prevention
Community safety networks that get to the roots of conflict and keep young people out of harm’s way.
Restorative justice circles, youth crisis intervention, community safety initiatives and de-escalation training.
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Youth and family
Mentorship, educational resources and health initiatives so young people and the adults raising them can thrive together.
Tutoring, mentoring, parenting workshops, leadership and money skills, and help finding resources.
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Health and wellness
Health education and resources for physical, mental and emotional wellness, and help reaching care.
Nutrition and fitness, mental health support and health screenings with local providers.
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Financial literacy and small business
Money skills that help families build lasting stability, and support for the entrepreneurs who keep our corridors alive.
A six-week small business program on planning, operations, marketing, funding and business credit, plus ongoing mentorship.
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Substance abuse prevention and recovery
Structured paths to long-term recovery through mentorship, resource advocacy and peer support.
Coping skills, life skills and job readiness, and weekly aftercare check-ins.
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Community beautification
Clean-ups, community gardens and public art that bring pride and care back to the spaces we share.
Seasonal clean-ups, garden days, festivals and holiday events.
In the works: a food pantry at Racine Courts Co-op
We’re building a recurring, no-barrier food pantry at Racine Courts Co-op, 10759 S Racine Ave, and looking for food partners and volunteers to help launch it.
What we’ve done
This August, we turned Racine Courts Co-op into ConnectFest, a back-to-school drive. Families left with backpacks, school supplies, food and connections to community resources, and every $100 from our sponsors supported five kids heading back to school.
- When
- August 16, noon to 6 PM
- Where
- Racine Courts Co-op, 10759 S Racine Ave
- Families got
- Backpacks, school supplies, food and resources
Swipe for more photos
Halloween is coming home to 63rd Street
Halloween is supposed to be the easy holiday. No plane tickets, no big dinner, no gifts. Just kids in costumes, walking their own block.
Four blocks of W 63rd Street are mostly vacant lots. On October 31, they won’t be. There will be a stage where there’s now gravel, a food village where there are now weeds, and a gated lot full of twenty decorated cars. Preschoolers from the daycare on our block will parade down the middle of the street, and when the sun goes down we’ll put a movie up in the library garden and let families stay a little longer.
- When
- Saturday, October 31
10 AM to 7:30 PM - Where
- W 63rd Street, Marshfield to Wood
- Cost
- Free. All ages, everyone welcome.
What’s happening
Tap the flyer to open it full size and share it.
Help make it happen
- Join the Monster CrewOne four-hour shift on October 31. We provide a meal, a t-shirt and signed service hours. No experience needed.Sign up to volunteer
- Host a trunkTwenty spaces in the gated lot. Bring a car, pick a theme and hand out candy to 600 kids. Free for community hosts.Claim a trunk
- Donate suppliesCandy, books, craft supplies, tents, pumpkins, lighting and raffle prizes. In-kind counts the same as cash.Offer supplies
- Vend at Taste of 63rdLocal restaurants, food trucks and dessert makers. This corridor’s food, in front of this corridor’s people.Apply to vend
Here’s exactly where your money goes
- $25Craft supplies for ten monster-makers
- $50Books for ten children
- $100Treat buckets for twenty children
- $250One photo pop-up
- $500An hour of the free community table
- $1,000Sponsor a decorated trunk
- $2,500The whole book giveaway
- $5,000Name a zone
- $10,000Presenting sponsor
1,500 neighbors. Zero cost at the gate. Somebody has to cover it.
Give to Spooky on 63rdShow up with us
Every gift and every volunteer hour stays on our blocks in Englewood and Washington Heights.
Donate
Send any amount by Zelle from your bank’s app.
In the memo, write your name and RCGC Donation so we can thank you.
Racine Courts Gentlemen Cares NFP is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit, EIN 99-4043987. Donations are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law.
Giving circles and sponsorships
Businesses, partners and neighbors who give at a higher level join a giving circle.
- Bronze$100 to $499
- Silver$500 to $999
- Gold$1,000 to $4,999
- Platinum$5,000 and up, with a plaque at a community site
Volunteer
Drives, clean-ups and block events run on neighbors who show up. Tell us how you’d like to help and we’ll follow up.